Cueto gets nod for Sunday
Johnny Cueto will take the mound Sunday at AT&T Park instead of Matt Cain, Giants manager Bruce Bochy said before Saturday night’s game against the Marlins.
“We didn’t want to go that long before his next start,” Bochy said.
Cueto had missed his turn Thursday in Detroit because of an inner ear infection, but has thrown on the side since and was cleared to go. Scouts from other teams are appreciative of the chance to watch Cueto as much as possible before the July 31 nonwaiver trade deadline.
As for Cain, he was available out of the bullpen Saturday.
He is 3-8 with a 5.58 ERA and is not guaranteed a return to the rotation, especially with lefthander Madison Bumgarner set to return from his shoulder injury after the All-Star break.
“Matt Cain will help out in the bullpen,” Bochy said. “After the break, I don’t have the rotation set for you right now.”
Back to work: Bumgarner will make another rehab start with the Class A San Jose Giants on Monday. He gave up four home runs in four innings against Rancho Cucamonga in San Jose on Wednesday.
“It would be nice to get him stretched out pretty good,” Bochy said. “We would like to get him to at least the sixth inning. I think that would be important to him. Tighten up all his pitches. This is an important tune-up for him. He knows it. We’ve talked about it.”
Williamson returns: The Giants placed outfielder Austin Slater (groin) on the 10-day disabled list and recalled outfielder Mac Williamson from Triple-A Sacramento.
Williamson hit .161 with one home run in a 10-game stint earlier this season. He was hitting .238 with nine home runs and 32 RBI in 49 games at
Sacramento.
Bochy plans to get Williamson’s uniform dirty, but also acknowledged the improvements that outfielder Gorkys Hernandez has made. Entering Saturday, Hernandez was hitting .368 (14-for-38) in his past 15 games to bring his average up to .238.
“If you look at Gorkys’ body of work here recently, it’s been pretty good,” Bochy said. “But I need to get Mac some at-bats, too.”